Eats

Festa Italiana 2022 – full line-up, opening times and how to get there

Brought to Manchester by Salvi’s, the festival has become something of a favourite amongst local foodies

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 17th August 2022

Festa Italiana, the free-to-enter weekend-long festival celebrating Italian food, drink and culture is returning to Festival Piazza this August bank holiday weekend for its fifth year in the city.

Taking place from 26 to 28 August 2022 at Cathedral Gardens in Manchester city centre, it will bring together some of the city’s best Italian and Sicilian eateries alongside a host of live music, Italian bars and special chef masterclasses.

Featuring street food pop-ups from the likes of Pasta Factory, T’arricrii and Lucky Mama’s, to a dedicated Aperol Spritz bar and Airstream bar selling Italian craft lagers, and a special intimate chef’s dinner event, there is a lot for foodie fans to get excited about this year.

What is the street food line-up at Festa Italiana 2022?

Over the course of the weekend, foodie fans can enjoy sweet treats from Café Cannoli, wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas from  I Knead Pizza and Proove, and ‘rasta pasta’ from Chorlton-via-Eccles favourites Lucky Mamas.

T’arricrii will bring along handbuilt arancini and fritto misto, whilst the Pasta Factory will be on hand with its authentic plates of fresh Puglian-style pasta dishes.

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Elsewhere, there’ll be sweet treats from festival founders Salvi’s, doughnuts from Destination Doughnut and grilled paninis, cakes, drinks and snacks from Kickback Coffee.

What bars are on offer at this year’s Festival Piazza?

The main festival bar will serve Italian favourites including fine Italian wine, Ponte prosecco, Luxardo, gin and tonics and other popular Italian spirits.

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An Airstream Bar from Birrificio Angelo Poretti will serve Italian craft beers, whilst an Aperol Spritz bar will be on hand serving up everyone’s favourite low-ABV aperitivo. Soft drinks and coffees will also be available on-site across the weekend.

Live music

This year, Compagnia Sole Luna will bring traditional folk music from Naples, revisited in a folk-rock style from southern Italy.

There will also be a full lineup of local artists and bands including the city’s best-loved opera singer The Manchester Tenor, while DJs will be spinning records each night.

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What events and masterclasses are taking place?

Festa Italiana Feaast – Dine with legendary Italian restaurateurs, authors, and UK TV favourites at the Festa Marquee

On Saturday 27 August an intimate chefs’ table dinner featuring top-class Italian TV celebrity chefs, Gennaro Contaldo, Giancarlo Caldesi, and Aldo Zilli, hosted and cooked by Salvis-owner Maurizio Cecco, with fresh pasta made from scratch by Carmela Serano Hayes. Guests and chefs will dine alongside one another, enjoying a four-course meal and drinks reception hosted by Gin Mare.

Festa feast tickets available here

Masterclasses inside the Festa Marquee

Carmela’s Kitchen – Carmela Sereno Hayes will be hosting ‘Carmela’s Kitchen’ across the entire weekend, with free drop-in sessions on the hour, every hour teaching pasta-loving adults and kids how to make the perfect pasta.

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Friday 26 August

1.30pm – Festival founder Maurizio Cecco hosts a cooking masterclass with his daughter Sienna.

2.30pm – The team from I Sapori di Corbara Tomatoes will be flying in from Naples and doing a talk showcasing the brand and their products

3.30pm – Giulia Martinelli of The Pasta Factory will be showyou how to be a pasta master

4.30pm – A drinks masterclass from the Luxardo Maraschino team, whose versatile cherries are used in desserts and drinks across the world.

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 5.30pm – A drink making Campari masterclass.

Saturday 27 August 

1.30pm – Maurizio Cecco hosts a pasta masterclass

2.30pm – Masterclasses and book signings from Gennaro Contaldo, UK brand ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano, (Saturday Kitchen, Two Greedy Italians, Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast)

3.30pm – Masterclasses and book signings from celebrity chef and award-winning restaurateur, Aldo Zilli (The One Show, This Morning, Celebrity Masterchef) 

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4:30pm – A drinks masterclass from the Aperol team, showcasing the methods behind some of the most loved Italian drinks

Sunday 28 August

1:30pm – Masterclasses and book signings from Giancarlo Caldesi (Return to Tuscany, Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch

2:30pm – Gennaro Contaldo returns for a masterclass

3:30pm – A masterclass from Great British Bake Off 2021 winner Giuseppe Dell’Anno 

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4:30pm – A very special pizza making masterclass by the team from Pizzeria Da Michele

When is Festa Italiana 2022 and what are the opening times?

Festa Italiana 2022 will take place from 26 to 28 August 2022 at Cathedral Gardens.

It will open across the weekend from 11am to 11pm, Friday to Sunday.

How do I get to the Festa Italiana festival hub?

Located opposite Manchester Victoria Station, the Festa Italiana festival hub sits in Cathedral Gardens. It can easily be accessed via tram, bus or train and is a short walk from Manchester Piccadilly.

Eats

Inside Manchester’s new padel club with a Pot Kettle Black cafe and courtside cocktail bar

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The Pollen Club x Pot Kettle Black

Padel is the fastest-growing sport in the world, and it’s really picking up speed in Manchester now too with another city centre club opening this month. 

The Pollen Club is a little different to the others, in that it’s fully undercover and protected from Manchester’s less-than-favourable weather. 

And another thing that makes it a must-visit is the cafe attached to it – a third site for the beloved Pot Kettle Black. 

The Pollen Club and Pot Kettle Black have both taken over a prominent city centre spot just off Deansgate, at the foot of the recently-opened Treehouse Hotel. 

There are two state-of-the-art padel courts inside, with a mezzanine terrace for enjoy Pot Kettle Black’s offerings.  

In summer, there are plans to launch a bar downstairs too, where you can sip spritzes courtside from loungers and swing seats. 

The exciting new Manchester padel club will host pop up events, DJ takeovers and an extended evening food offering. 

Pot Kettle Black are part of the new padel club
Pot Kettle Black are part of the new padel club
Inside Manchester's new padel club, The Pollen Club
Inside Manchester’s new padel club, The Pollen Club
Pot Kettle Black are part of the new padel club
Pot Kettle Black are part of the new padel club

And even if you’re not heading inside The Pollen Club, Pot Kettle Black has a grab-and-go hatch facing onto Blackfriars Street, making their delicious coffees, sandwiches and pastries (from their own bakery Half Dozen Other) even more accessible. 

Commenting on the opening of the new site, Pot Kettle Black co-owner, Mark Flanagan said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have opened our third Pot Kettle Black site at The Padel Club. This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the team.

“After ten years in the city we’ve been enjoying seeing some familiar faces stopping by for a coffee and we can’t wait to get started on our programme of summer events!”

Find out more HERE. 

Read more

Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Insomnia Cookies is giving away FREE cookies to anyone with these two names

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester’s late-night sweet treat spot Insomnia Cookies is dishing out freebies this week… but there’s a catch.

You have to be called one of two specific names to get one.

With the long bank holiday weekend upon us, those in-the-know will also have noticed that this Sunday isn’t just Easter Sunday, it also happens to be 4/20… and that means Insomnia Cookies is back with its ‘blazing’ £4.20 deal, giving you the chance to bag a box of four warm cookies while saving nearly £7 at the same time.

But even better still, if you happen to have either the first or middle name ‘Mary’ or ‘Jane’, then you can also get yourself a warm tasty cookie for free.

To mark both 4/20, and celebrate the launch of its newest strain of mouthwatering cookie, the Mary Jane, anyone called Mary or Jane can pop into either of Insomnia Cookies’ two Manchester city centre sites – Cross Street and University Green – show their valid ID with their name on, and walk alway with a cookie free of charge.

If you want to try the new Mary Jane cookie, then this limited-edition special is made up of a cookies n cream dough base, packed with rainbow sprinkles.

The freebie deal has been running all week, and you have up until 3am on Monday 21 April to take advantage of it.

Customers will be limited to one free cookie per day.

Insomnia Cookies is giving away free cookies to anyone with these two names / Credit: Insomnia Cookies UK

If you aren’t lucky enough to be called one of those two names though, then thankfully you can still make some great savings on a classic four-pack of cookies over the spring bank holiday weekend, and for every four-pack sold, £1 will be donated to Groundwork – a charity helping make Manchester greener for nature and for local people.

“We’re calling for Marys and Janes to join us to live the high life with free cookies all week,” commented Millie Ralston, Head of Marketing at Insomnia Cookies.

Read more:

“And for those kicking-back in Platt Fields Park this Sunday, come grab a £4.20 box for when the munchies hit.”

Featured Image – Insomnia Cookies UK

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